Top-ranked racquetball player Kane Waselenchuk pulls put of New Jersey Open due to injury

Up to $20,000 in prize money is at stake in the New Jersey Open racquetball tournament is being held Dec. 13-16 at the Warren Health and Racquet Club, 149 Mt. Bethel Road in Warren.

WARREN TWP. — The No.1 racquetball player for the past three years, Kane Waselenchuk, has pulled out of the New Jersey Open Tournament because of a knee injury.

Some of the top pro racquetball players will be in Warren Township through Dec. 16 vying for up to $20,000 in prize money in the tournament.

“I love what I do and never want to miss a tourney,” Waselenchuk said during a recent press conference, according to the International Racquetball Tour. “The doctor said it would be in my best interest to take a rest, rehab the knee, and then be ready for the second half of the season.”

Jason Mannino, president of the International Racquetball Tour, said in an interview that Waselenchuk “pulling out of the draw opens the tournament to the rest of the field.”

Mannino said he is now looking for top players Rocky Carson, Alvaro Beltran and Jose Rojas “to step up.”

“Most of the people talking about the event figure one of those three will win,” he said.

The tournament event being staged at the Warren Health and Racquet Club (http://www.warrenhealthclub.com), 149 Mt. Bethel Road in Warren, will not only be a showcase of the skill and passion possessed by the more than 170 participating amateur and professionals, but will also honor the state’s own resident racquetball celebrity, Aimee Ruiz, who will be inducted into the NJ Racquetball Hall of Fame on Saturday evening, Dec. 15.

Ruiz, a left-hander, is a two-time world champion in doubles, winning the title in 2006 and 2008.